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Supersuckers – Suck It (Acetate Records) Album Review

Supersuckers – Suck It
Released by: Acetate Records
Released on: September 21st, 2018.Purchase From Amazon

The twelfth full length studio album Seattle’s longstanding rock ‘n’ roll champions Supersuckers is titled, appropriately enough, Suck it, delivers ten new tracks courtesy of vocalist/bass player Eddie Spaghetti, bass player 'Metal' Marty Chandler and drummer 'Captain' Chris Von Streicher just in time for the band’s thirtieth anniversary. The band cut all ten tracks on this record in four days, and it has a nice, freewheeling sound to it – it’s not over-produced, nor is it under-produced, it just sounds ‘right’ and it’s the band’s first album since Spaghetti was treated for throat cancer – so maybe it’s not a surprise that some of the material here is a bit darker than you might expect given their legacy.

The opener, the five-minute All Of The Time, opens with a sample about ‘doing it live’ before the track proper kicks in. Once it does, it’s instantly recognizable as a Supersuckers track – straight ahead rock n roll played fast, tight and with a bit of raunch in the mix. Eddie Spaghetti’s vocals are maybe a little raspier than they were in the early days, but that’s not a bad thing, it lends a level of sincerity to the music that makes it more appealing.

The History Of Rock 'n' Roll, which his just short of six-minutes, is a bittersweet track and maybe the best on the album. It rocks in all the right ways but it makes the point that a lot of the genuinely great bands out there still playing legitimate rock ‘n’ roll will likely be a ‘footnote to an anecdote in the history of rock ‘n’ roll.’ Spaghetti name checks a lot of great acts, from the Lazy Cowgirls to Danko Jones to Mick Collins to the Dwarves to Throw Rag to The Electric Six and of course, by the time it’s over, includes Supersuckers alongside them. There’s a bit of sadness to the track, if that was intentional or not I can’t say, but it’s catchy as Hell and it’s nice to see the band paying some heartfelt respect to so many of their peers.

The three-and-a-half-minute Dead Inside is catchy enough, which some catchy guitar work and some nice cowbell action from Von Streicher behind the drum kit. It’s more of a mid-tempo rocker with a bit of the alt-country sound that the band has always toyed with, but it works well enough. This track does seem to be allowing the band to work through some stuff. It’s more melancholy and pensive in a lot of ways than most of their material tends to be.

Breaking My Balls, which clocks in at three-minutes, brings things back up to speed, quite literally, as the trio tears into it. The guitars are way up front in this one and it’s all the better for it. It’s a hard luck song, the kind that the band has always done well, with some decent harmonies in the vocals. Catchy stuff.

The four-minute The Worst Thing Ever slows things down again. It’s a bit bluesier than you might expect from the band but it’s cool to hear them doing something a little more atypical while still very much grounding things in their signature sound. There’s some cool organ playing in the background here that makes it stand out.

What's Up (With This Motherfucking Thing?), a two minute track, blasts right from the start. It’s the most aggressive track on the album, with vocals from Eddie and Marty both front and center in the mix. It’s profane, it’s insane and it’s pretty goddamn great. Classic Supersuckers from start to finish, complete with a solid solo that doesn’t overstay its welcome.

Cold Wet Wind, at three-minutes, again sees the band heading into country territory. It’s got a Kristofferson-esque vibe to it – definitely a good thing – and it’s foot-stompingly good, harkening back to the Must’ve Been High era sound. Some quality harmonica work on this track too. This one will get stuck in your head pretty easily. It’s a more laid back and mellow track than the rest of the songs on this album, but just as good as anything else here.

(I’m Gonna Choke Myself And Masturbate) 'Til I Die is a stand out track mainly because of how lyrically ridiculous it is - the band has always had a sense of humor. At three-minutes, it’s quick enough, and like What’s Up and Breaking My Balls it’s a fast, aggressive slab of rock. It also features the best guitar riff on the record and some seriously thumping drum work.

The penultimate track is the three-minute Private Parking Lot is catchy as fuck, the kind of song that makes you want to shake your ass and sing along. It’s a party song, and a really good one at that, wherein Spaghetti sings about all the fun you can have in your own parking lot. A simple concept I guess, but this one is just plain fun and they really make it work.

The album closes with a cover of ZZ Top’s seminal Beerdrinkers And Hellraisers in which Austin, Texas’ Jesse Dayton helps out on by sharing vocal duties. Dayton’s voice sounds pretty great here, he’s got a more soulful style that contrasts with Eddie’s whisky burnt sound really well. They play the song straight, channeling that ZZ groove nicely while still putting their own spin on what is pretty much an instantly recognizable song. It’s a pretty great way to close of an impressive album and a genuinely solid addition to the band’s bad ass legacy of kick ass rock ‘n’ roll.